Thursday, 20 August 2009

I have only just got into Courtney Love's 90s grunge riot grrrl band Hole but I love them already. Despite Courtney's many downfalls, she's had a lot over the years, you can't argue with her song writing prowess. Live Through This is a masterpiece. It manages to embody all of the primal rage of a young woman without sounding forced. Just listen to Jennifer's Body or Miss World and you'll know what i'm talking about. I've heard the rumours that Kurt Cobain actually wrote the album and Courtney had nothing to do with it but if you actually listened to the album you could tell Kurt had nothing to do with it. Only a woman could write that deeply about the female experience.

As good as Live Through This is the song of the month is not actually from that album. The Song of the Month is Best Sunday Dress which was written way back when Courtney was hanging round with Kat Bjelland of Babes In Toyland but only released years later as a b-side, of all things, on Celebrity Skin.

I love this song for many reasons. The darkly seductive riffs are quite PJ Harvey-esque; something Love many have added later as she has stated many times that she is a big fan of Harvey's. I just can't resist the simply beautiful line that Love rips apart 'WATCHING YOU BURN...AHH AHH. The MTV unplugged version is pretty cool too.

Before I listened to Love's songs I had little to no respect for her. I believed the rumours. She was a drug addict, hung onto her husband's talent, was a failed feminist and all round bag of crazy. While some of those rumours may be true, well all of them are probably true to some extent, you can't deny she was, scratch that, IS talented. She is an admirable character. We could do with a few more girls like her ripping it up, flashing their knickers and generally not giving a fuck.Love ya CourtHole- Best Sunday Dress

Sunday, 16 August 2009

I've recently just got into 80's twee band The Vaselines. The Vaselines are Frances McKee, Eugene Kelly, Charlie Kelly and James Seenam. They hailed from scotland, a haven for many twee and C86 bands in the 80's. They were one of Kurt Cobain's, a man who had good taste in music, favourite bands. He showed his love for the vaselines when he covered their best known hits 'Molly's Gun' and 'Son of a Gun'. It is also claimed that Cobain named his daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, after McKee.

A lot of people don't like twee and for good reason. The late music journalist Steven Wells certainly didn't. It can be annoying for example los campesinos. I loved them at first but then you started to realise that the bright colours would never fade, the exhuberant girl/boy choruses would never end and the up his own arse lead singer would stay and remain up his own arse.

The Vaselines are admirable because they stuck to what was best about twee music, good pop music with dreamy boy/girl vocals. they also were not to pretentious to take the piss out of themselves too. Just listen to the child's horn on 'Molly's Gun' and the obvious metaphor for sex in 'Rory Ride me Raw'.

One of my favourite songs though is their cover of 80's drag queen Divine's 'You Think You're a Man'. Frances's soft vocals are completely to highly dramatic orginal version and that's what makes it so good.

The good news is that they have recently reformed as a band released a new collection of old hits and are now sparsely touring.

Thursday, 6 August 2009

After the news that Conor McNicholas, who has edited the NME for nearly a decade now, is leaving, for Top Gear magazine of all places, it has been revealed that he is being replaced by a woman. Krissi Murison is the new editor of the prestigious NME. This is a first in the magazine's history and a great leap forward for female journalists but what does this mean for women.

Murison worked for NME for six years until February when she left for greener pastures and became the music director for Nylon magazine in New York.

Murison was hopefully picked because she previously worked as the Deputy Editor and I'm guessing she knew the magazine inside out. I don't think it was a conscious decision to employ a female editor.

Also we have to question whether a female editor would actually want to do more for other women. The NME employs amazing writers but it is a mainstream magazine which caters to the mainstream, usually young white middle class men, by giving them the mainstream, young white middle class men in bands. The falling sales figures have hurt the magazine quite badly lately so the staff have to cater to their market more than ever which leaves out everyone else including women.

Murison starts her new job on 1st September so only time will tell how well she does. No matter what she does I wish her well. I did work experience there for two weeks and it's a hard job, theirs was not mine I didn't really get to do that much, and I hope it all works out well. Don't Dance Her Down Boys will be waiting in line to get her first issue when it comes out.